Smoking gun, but no arrest a year later

Chris Churchill, The Advocate

Published 6:21 pm, Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Photo: Cindy Schultz

Image 1of/8

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 8

Bill Westwood, standing with a car that was vandalized a year ago, believes that Albany police failed to aggressively investigate the crime. "I don't think that people should be afraid ... of leaving property in public places," he said. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) less

Bill Westwood, standing with a car that was vandalized a year ago, believes that Albany police failed to aggressively investigate the crime. "I don't think that people should be afraid ... of leaving property ... more

Photo: Cindy Schultz

Image 2 of 8

Albany resident Bill Westwood believes this beer keg was used to vandalize his Honda Accord on March 6, 2012. To his frustration, police have not charged anyone with the crime. (Photo provided by Bill Westwood)

Albany resident Bill Westwood believes this beer keg was used to vandalize his Honda Accord on March 6, 2012. To his frustration, police have not charged anyone with the crime. (Photo provided by Bill Westwood)

Image 3 of 8

When vandals attacked Bill Westwood's car on March 6, 2012, the $8,000 in total damage included broken windows and dents. Westwood concluded that a empty beer keg was used in the attack and is frustrated that police have not made an arrest. (Photo provided by Bill Westwood) less

When vandals attacked Bill Westwood's car on March 6, 2012, the $8,000 in total damage included broken windows and dents. Westwood concluded that a empty beer keg was used in the attack and is frustrated that ... more

Image 4 of 8

When vandals attacked Bill Westwood's car on March 6, 2012, the $8,000 in total damage included broken windows and dents. Westwood concluded that a empty beer keg was used in the attack and is frustrated that police have not made an arrest. (Photo provided by Bill Westwood) less

When vandals attacked Bill Westwood's car on March 6, 2012, the $8,000 in total damage included broken windows and dents. Westwood concluded that a empty beer keg was used in the attack and is frustrated that ... more

Image 5 of 8

When vandals attacked Bill Westwood's car on March 6, 2012, the $8,000 in total damage included broken windows and dents. Westwood concluded that a empty beer keg was used in the attack and is frustrated that police have not made an arrest. (Photo provided by Bill Westwood) less

When vandals attacked Bill Westwood's car on March 6, 2012, the $8,000 in total damage included broken windows and dents. Westwood concluded that a empty beer keg was used in the attack and is frustrated that ... more

Image 6 of 8

Bill Westwood with his car, which was vandalized last year, on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Bill Westwood with his car, which was vandalized last year, on Tuesday, March 12, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Photo: Cindy Schultz

Image 7 of 8

Bill Westwood believes Albany police did not aggressively investigate vandalism that caused $8,000 in damage to his Honda. "You can't have people running around and getting away with this kind of stuff if there's a chance you can catch them," he said. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) less

Bill Westwood believes Albany police did not aggressively investigate vandalism that caused $8,000 in damage to his Honda. "You can't have people running around and getting away with this kind of stuff if ... more

Photo: Cindy Schultz

Image 8 of 8

Smoking gun, but no arrest a year later

1 / 8

Back to Gallery

ALBANY — Late one night, Bill Westwood became Sherlock Holmes. He had a crime to investigate.

The 67-year-old, an illustrator working late to meet a deadline, exited his North Albany office building at 11:35 p.m. to find his car smashed silly. An overturned beer keg was feet away.

Westwood, using his powers of deduction, figured the keg was launched repeatedly at his red Honda Accord. And when he spotted three men and a woman standing nearby, he suspected they might know something about the vandalism.

"Did you guys see what happened?" Westwood asked.

The response: A suspicious silence, before the woman finally said "We didn't see anything."

So Westwood put on his detective hat. Here are facts he considered:

• He had seen an SUV parked illegally in the building's lot when he'd arrived at work that evening. The Olds Bravada was now gone, and the four suspicious strangers had been eyeing the tow-away sign.

• A co-worker had left the office just before Westwood. If the Honda had been damaged at the time, the co-worker surely would have noticed and told Westwood about the dents and broken windows. The crime, then, must have occurred in the last few minutes.

• The size of the 24-inch keg exactly matched the dents.

I should mention that Westwood works in Albany's beer-scented Warehouse District. He's two doors up Broadway from Wolff's Biergarten. Across the street are the Barrel Saloon and Stout, an Irish bar. High above, Nipper watches the neighborhood with his usual canine curiosity.

Westwood called police, of course, but officers showed too late to confront the Suspicious Four, who had staggered to Stout for more drinks before departing in a cab. Officers, their arrival apparently delayed by a shift change, took a report and promised to be in touch.

In the days that followed, Westwood continued to investigate.

From Biergarten employees, he learned that the Suspicious Four were from Hudson and had been captured by the bar's cameras. Even better: A back-alley camera had seemingly recorded one of the gang stealing an empty keg at 11:31 p.m.

Westwood, with the help of building management, also asked the tow company who'd retrieved the Olds. He got two names, license numbers and an address in — you guessed it — Hudson.

The evidence supported a theory: The Suspicious Four had drunkenly exited the Biergarten, walked to the lot and discovered the SUV was gone. One or more had then directed their rage at the innocent Honda.

With satisfaction, Westwood gave the info he'd collected to police, expecting the department would tie the loose ends. The crime, it seemed, would soon be solved.

But a year later, no arrests have been made. The case is cold. And an exasperated Westwood concludes that police didn't aggressively pursue the jerks who did $8,000 in damage to his Honda.

"I went and did all this extra work for this," Westwood said. "I handed them not only suspects, but very strong suspects. I expected a more aggressive response."

Westwood has been out of touch with police since last summer, but the case nags him. He contacted the Times Union last month after reading about a woman whose finger was nearly bitten off as she danced at a North Pearl Street club. The woman, Ashley Shilling, said police seemed uninterested in her case — and that sounded all too familiar to Westwood.

Yet police have since arrested Shilling's alleged attacker. And the department defends its investigation into the assault on Westwood's car.

"I'm very confident with the work that was done," said Anthony Ryan, the detective commander. "Trust me, if an arrest was possible, we'd have made one."

Detectives traveled twice to Hudson for interviews, Ryan said. They talked to three members of the Suspicious Four, but none flipped. The fourth member refused to meet detectives.

Worse, police say they couldn't conclusively identify the man caught on video stealing the keg. That left the department, Ryan said, without evidence for an arrest.

That speaks to an unhappy truth: Real life isn't TV, and some crimes are never solved. Sometimes, the bad guys win. And peace of mind suffers.

Westwood, like many crime victims, has changed his behavior as a result. The Warehouse District isn't dangerous, but he's more cautious. He no longer parks in the lot after hours.

He wonders what would have happened if he'd left work a few minutes earlier that night. Would he have been the target of the vandals' rage?